Music
Watch Kirin J Callinan's majestic Big Enough video
A cross-continental tale of rivals becoming friends, with a special guest appearance from a living legend.
There are more than a few outlandish moments on Kirin J Callinan's defiant second album Bravado, none more so than its centrepiece track Big Enough. The song features world champion whistler Molly Lewis setting the spaghetti western scene, with Kirin in duet mode with compatriot Alex Cameron. And it's hard to miss Cold Chisel legend Jimmy Barnes belting it out over blaring strains of EDM in the chorus.
Now the song has a fittingly over-the-top video, thanks to frequent King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard collaborator Danny Cohen.
Speaking while on the road between supporting John Mayer's American tour as part of nascent pop outfit The Night Game, Kirin details how he overcame a formidable setback he faced at US customs, and whether he and Alex Cameron are genuine rivals.
Watch the video premiere, and read the full interview along with behind the scenes photos, below.
Watching the video, it feels like you might have had the visuals in mind while creating the song. Was that the case?
Kirin J Callinan: The song is critically visual, the whole scene from when, before recording it when just writing the lyrics remotely with Alex. We'd send a verse back and forth to each other over email. It was really visual even at that stage, and imagining the different clips during the making of the record helped me to understand what it was and what it could be. The whole process was very visual though. That said, they never turn out exactly as you envisage – especially when you're operating on a budget and you're operating in the real world.
What were the logistics of filming your parts of the video and Alex's segments?
I flew to America to go out to Arizona and shoot it with Alex out there in this sort of David Bowie, Mick Jagger Dancing In The Street spirit – trading lines and dancing one to one. I got detained at the US border and held for 15 hours and sent back to Australia, and we had to reimagine the whole video. Alex had flown in from New York, Danny Cohen and the film crew had flown from Melbourne the day before, and then I flew in from Perth the next day and to LA, and I got sent home. We had to reimagine the whole thing.
But there's a silver lining in that I think the video is so much more ambitious, the scope of it is so much more ambitious now that it's set across two continents and two landscapes: fire and ice. It's more abstract and has a deeper message in there.
Behind the scenes
© Danny Cohen
Where did your scenes end up being filmed?
Victoria [Australia], in the Alps.
What were your horseback skill like prior to the shoot?
Well the first time I'd ridden a horse was in Cuba for the Song About Drugs video, but that was more of a dying donkey than the bucking wild brumby that I was riding in the Big Enough video. Very different beast. We found these stables, and they actually specialised in training actors to ride in films. I think the fellow, Clay, who was working with us, he had taught Orlando Bloom and Heath Ledger how to look like naturals on the back of a horse for the Ned Kelly movie. We had less time. The sun was setting and we were trying to get the shot, but I feel like a natural up there. It might be my calling.
Behind the scenes
© Danny Cohen
Were there any challenges getting Jimmy Barnes involved in the video?
I asked him and he said yes. But it was a bit more complicated than that. I also wanted him to come up and play Splendour in the Grass with us. It felt like it was a situation where it was one or the other. I just felt uncomfortable asking both from him – although I did. If it was one or the other, then I'd much prefer, for posterity, that he's in the video clip, reaching so many more people in the long run. I think it's amazing. It really takes it to another level.
Having Jimmy involved in the first place was inspired by the KLF video clip where they have Tammy Wynette just come out of nowhere and let rip.
Behind the scenes
© Hayden Sommerville
Tell us about your relationship with Alex over the years. How much is the competitiveness and camaraderie in the song based in reality?
Alex and I have known each other for a long time. I remember it was at the 2009 SMAC Awards. Jack Ladder and the Dreamlanders were nominated for best live act, which undeniably in my opinion were the best live act in the country, really cooking. It was incredible. That was our first tour together with me in the band, and the chemistry was palpable between Tim [Rogers, aka Jack Ladder] Donny [Benet], Laurence [Pike] and I.
There was this other young band who were nominated: Seekae. They won the award and performed at the awards, and I hated that show. Their performance was limp, fucking D-grade. Kids trying to be clever. They couldn't play their instruments, no presence, no point at all. I was furious, and that was my first interaction with Alex. So from the beginning it's been a rivalry, but at the same time there's also a deep love. I mean I taught him everything he knows. I'm kidding. Not really. I'm not kidding at all. He's amazing. We literally went from rivals to partners. In that sense, that's what the song is about.
There's one foot in the truth, and one foot in fiction.
Kirin J Callinan's new album Bravado is out now via EMI.
